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DECISION No

DECISION No. 254/1998/QD-TTg OF DECEMBER 30, 1998 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF GOODS IMPORT AND EXPORT IN 1999

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to Decree No. 57/1998/ND-CP of July 31, 1998 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Commercial Law regarding the goods import, export and processing as well as sale and purchase agency for foreign countries;

At the proposal of the Minister of Trade,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To ratify the 1999 lists of imports and exports, including:

- A list of goods banned from import and export (Appendix 1).

- A list of goods for conditional import or export (Appendix 2).

Article 2.- Quota-regulated imports and exports

1. The export of textiles and garments in 1999 to markets where quotas are required shall comply with the Prime Minister�s guidelines in the Government�s Document No. 1126/CP-KTTH of September 21, 1998 on the assignment of textile and garment quotas for export to markets where such quotas are required, and with the guiding documents jointly issued by the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance.

2. The management of rice export in 1999 shall comply with the Prime Minister�s separate decision.

Article 3.- Goods for conditional import or export:

1. For petrol and oil (except for lubricants):

- The Ministry of Trade shall manage and ensure the import of around 7.0 million tons of petrol and oil products in 1999; allocate right from the beginning of the year all petrol and oil import quotas for enterprises specialized in petrol and oil trading, 60% of which shall be imported by the Petrol and Oil Corporation.

- In cases where the import quotas need to be adjusted, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall consult with the Ministry of Trade and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

- The Government Pricing Commission is assigned to assume the prime responsibility and, together with the concerned ministries and branches, closely monitor the petrol and oil market and prices and submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and adjustment, when necessary, the ceiling retail petrol and oil prices so as to stabilize petrol and oil prices on the market.

2. The management of fertilizer import in 1999 shall comply with the Prime Minister�s separate decision.

3. For the import of automobiles and motorcycles of various types:

a/ To ban the import of complete automobiles of 15 seats or under; complete motorcycles and motor-tricycles; CKD components for assembling motorcycles of various types, except for import by mode of bartering as stipulated in Article 7 of this Decree.

b/ Foreign-invested enterprises engaged in the assembly and manufacture of automobiles and motorcycles of various types in IKD form shall be allowed to import (according to the current regulations on the assignment of import-export management responsibility) components for the assembly and manufacture activities in strict compliance with their investment licenses and regulations of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Communications and Transport and the Ministry of Finance on the current State criteria set for transport means as well as the State�s localization policy provided for such products.

c/ Domestic enterprises investing in the manufacture and assembly of motorcycles in IKD form, which are recognized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the Ministry of Communications and Transport as having fully met the technical conditions and ensured safety for the users, shall be entitled to import IKD components for assembly activities according to their production acity.

The assembly of motorcycles in IKD form as mentioned in Points b and c above shall be effected only with the assembler�s copyright over the products� trade labels and marks.

4. For imports and exports subject to specialized management: To assign the ministries and branches to continue reviewing the lists for further removal therefrom those goods which are deemed not necessary to restrict; and elaborate a transparent Regulation on import-export management, minimizing troublesome procedures, then submit it to the Prime Minister for ratification before February 1999.

Article 4.- On the basis of the potential trade balance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is assigned to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Trade and concerned branch-managing ministries to closely manage the conditional import of a number of goods categories and items (as mentioned in Appendix II, Decree No. 57/1998-ND-CP of July 31, 1998 and detailed in Appendix II of this Decision), as well as the following:

1. Electric fans for civil use

2. Ceramic and granite flooring tiles

3. Porcelain consumer goods (including porcelain sanitation wares), glassware and ceramics

3. Packings made of plastic finished products

4. Steel pipes of 20 mm to 144 mm f; bridge pig iron tubes

5. Motors and frames of motorcycles and motor-tricycles of various types in incomplete form

7. Sodium liquid NaOH

8. Bicycles

9. Essential vegetable oils

10. DOP

11. Trucks of under 5 tons

12. Passenger cars of from 15 to 50 seats

13. Cargo-cum-passenger cars

14. Used ambulances

15. Clinker

Article 5.- Consumer goods and a number of import materials (steel cast, PVC raw materials, aluminum bars and structures) shall be regulated mainly by taxes, surcharges and different modes of bank payment. Enterprises importing consumer goods shall have to balance their foreign currency demands by themselves and make the immediate lump-sum payment therefor.

Article 6.- The export of wood products and import of wood materials shall comply with Decision No. 65/1998/QD-TTg of March 24, 1998 and Decision No. 136/1998/QD-TTg of July 31, 1998 of the Prime Minister on amendments to a number of provisions of Decision No. 65/1998/QD-TTg.

Article 7.- To boost the export of goods produced mainly from domestic materials, and to encourage enterprises to export such goods through contracts for exchange of goods, including a number of goods items subject to conditional import.

The Ministry of Trade shall consult the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the State Bank and the General Department of Customs to make a list of export goods for the above-said exchange and report it to the Prime Minister in January 1999, before the promulgation thereof.

Article 8.- With regard to foreign countries that want to export goods to Vietnam in large quantities and that are entitled to Vietnam�s preferential import tax rates, the Ministry of Trade shall negotiate and reach agreement on a reasonable balance of the two-way trade turnovers so as to promote the export of Vietnamese goods to such foreign countries.

Article 9.- For such import goods with foreign currency demand to be balanced by the State as petrol and oil, fertilizers, iron and steel, they shall be re-exported only when foreign customers ensures to pay in a freely-convertible foreign currency(ies); in cases where a country that shares the borderlines with Vietnam has an official request for the purchase of the above-said materials but is unable to pay in a freely-convertible foreign currency(ies), the Ministry of Trade shall report it to the Prime Minister for decision.

Article 10.- For materials and goods other than those defined in the lists and regulations of this Decision, enterprises with business registration certificates in suitable business lines and with import-export enterprise codes shall be entitled to export and/or import them according to their demands and the Ministry of Trade�s guidances.

Article 11.- The Minister of Trade shall guide the implementation of this Decision; have to coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in managing and boosting export and strictly controlling import in order to keep the trade deficit of Vietnamese enterprises below the level permitted by the National Assembly in the 1999 plan.

Article 12.- This Decision takes effect from January 1st, 1999 till March 31, 2000. In the course of implementation, the Ministry of Trade shall monitor and sum up opinions of the ministries, branches and localities then quickly report to the Prime Minister for handling matters that go beyond the jurisdiction of ministries and branches.

Article 13.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

NGUYEN MANH CAM

THE GOVERNMENT THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Independence - Freedom - Happiness

APPENDIX I

LIST OF GOODS BANNED FROM EXPORT AND IMPORT

(Issued together with Decision No. 254/1998/QD-TTg of December 30, 1998

of the Prime Minister)

I. Goods banned from export:

1. Weapons, ammunitions, explosives, military technical equipment

2. Antiques

3. Narcotics of all kinds

4. Toxic chemicals

5. Logs, sawed and peeled timber from domestic natural forest timbers; firewood, charcoal

made from wood or firewood; semi-finished products made from domestic natural forest

timbers, which are banned from export by Decision No.65/1998/QD-TTg of March 24,

1998 of the Prime Minister.

6. Wild animals, and rare and precious natural animals and plants.

II. Goods banned from import:

1. Weapons, ammunitions, explosives (except for industrial explosives, which are subject

to separate regulations of the Prime Minister), military technical equipment

2. Narcotics of all kinds

3. Toxic chemicals

4. Depraved and reactionary cultural products

5. Firecrackers of all kinds (except for signal fires of all kinds for maritime safety and

other needs, which are subject to separate regulations of the Prime Minister). Children�s

toys harmful to ethical education, social order and safety.

6. Cigarettes (except for personal use in prescribed quantity)

7. Used consumer goods (except for movable properties, including goods in service of personal

needs of individuals with diplomatic titles of foreign countries and international

organizations and personal effects in prescribed quantity)

8. Cars with right-hand drive (including those in knock-down forms and those with drives

already switched before their import into Vietnam)

The import of specialized self-propelled means with right-hand drive that operate in narrow

spaces, such as: cranes, diggers, dumpers, road sweepers, road-rollers, passenger transfer

vehicles, forklifts in warehouses, ports... shall be decided by the Minister of Trade when

there is a need to import them.

9. Used spare parts of automobiles, motorcycles and motor-tricycles, including chassis mounted

with used automobile engines of different types

10. Products containing asbestos of amphibole group

11. Internal combustion engines with capacity of under 30 CV.

THE GOVERNMENT THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Independence- Freedom- Happiness

APPENDIX II

LIST OF GOODS SUBJECT TO CONDITIONAL IMPORT AND EXPORT

(Issued together with Decision No.254/1998/QD-TTg of December 30, 1998

of the Prime Minister)

I. IMPORT-EXPORT GOODS REGULATED BY QUOTAS

1. Rice

2. Goods regulated by quotas as set for Vietnam by foreign economic organizations

and countries

II. GOODS SUBJECT TO IMPORT-EXPORT PERMITS

A. Import goods:

1. Petrol and oil

2. Fertilizers

3. Motorcycles, motor-tricycles and components for complete assembly

4. Tourist cars of 15 seats or under

5. Assorted steel

6. Black cement

7. Refined sugar and raw material sugar

8. Writing and printing papers of different types

9. Assorted glass

10. Liquor

11. Goods subject to specialized management according to the list ratified by the Government

B. Export goods:

1. Goods subject to specialized management according to the list ratified by the Prime Minister.-